Method of taping midsoles



' March 26,1946. is. A. cREPEAu 2,397,245

METHOD OF TAP-ING MIbsoLEs Filed Oct. 1, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Maich 26, 1946. 5A. CREPEAU f 2,397,245

METHOD OF TAPING MIDSOLES Fig.7

Filed 001;. 1, 1942 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 March 26, 1946. E.- A. 'cREP LI 2,39

METHOD OF TAPING MIDSOLES s Sheets-She t 3 Filed Oct. 1; 1942 .so that the binding strip wrinkles.

Patented Mar. 26, 1946 METHOD OF TAPING MIDSOLES Ernest A.,Crepeau, Havel-hill, Mass, assignor to UnitedShoe Machinery Corporation, Flemington, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 1, 1942,'Serial No. 460,384

4 Claims.

This invention relates to the manufacture of shoes, and more particularly to the manufacture of midsoles of a kind in which a binding strip is utilized to cover the peripheral edge face thereof.

Midsoles, or platform soles, are used to a large extent in play shoes and slippers and may consist of a resilient pad of uniform thickness from the heel to the toe, or of a wedge-shaped pad the heel end of which is raised by means ofa wedge piece Or a thickening of that portion of the pad to form a lift or heel. Ordinarily, these pads 'are covered with a strip of leather or cloth to hide their raw edge faces and to give them a finished and decorative appearance. The binding material comes in strip form and is of such width that it will overlap the top and bottom faces of the pad adjacent to its edges and may be secured to these faces by stitching, stapling, or adhesive. It is to be observed that the strip may be in one or more pieces, that is, a single piece may be applied to the entire peripheral edge or there may bea piece surrounding the heel end of the pad and another piece surrounding the toe end of the pad. These pieces are generally notched at portions where they will encompass a particularly sharp. curve or bend so that the binding will lie flat when it is applied.

Heret-ofore, it has been customary when ap+ plying the binding to the pad to attach the binding strip to the peripheral edge fac and to the marginal surface portions adjacent thereto so that the entire width of the binding strip is adhesively secured to the pad. This was true even when the final securing means was stitching or stapling which extended through the marginal portion of the pad from top to bottom. Since the pad is composed of a resilient material, for example, felted fibers or a combination of fibers and cork, it is compressible and when the 'outsole is applied to the bottom of thepad in the solepressing machine the pressure, which is in the neighborhood of 1400 pounds, squashe's the pad When the pressure is released, the pad expands to its original thickness, but the binding remains wrinkled,

due to the fact that the adhesive-coated surface of the binding and. the adhesive-coated surface of the pad will notmove freely with respect to each other, and consequently the binding can only be smoothed out by the application of hot ironing means. The same effect is also produced when the finished shoe is worn,,although to a smaller degree. That is, when the shoe is worn, tha-midso1e pad is alternately compressed and allowed to expand. Eventually, as aresult of this 65 constant expansion and contraction, the bond between the binding strip and the peripheral edge face of the pad is broken so that permanent wrinkles are produced around the edge of the pad which detract from the appearance of the finished shoe. Wrinkling is also caused to some extent by the stretching of the binding strip widthwise under the constant contraction and expansion of the pad durin wear, so that there is an excess amount of material covering the edge face of the midsole.

An object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of making midsole .of the above-mentioned type and also a machine adapted for use in the practice of the method. In accordance with the illustrated practice, adhesive is applied to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces of the midsole including the corners formed by the intersection of the peripheral edge-face of the midsole and its top and bottom faces. A precoated binding strip having its opposite marginal portions extending beyond the top and bottom faces of the midsole is then wrapped about the peripheral edge of the midsole and caused to adhere temporarily tothe corners thereof, after which the projecting marginal portions of the'binding are bent inwardly into engagement with, and are wiped over, the top and bottom faces of the midsole while pressure is applied thereto to compress the margin of the midsole and to bond the marginal portions of the binding strip permanently to the midsole. N o adhesive is applied to the peripheral edge face of the midsole, and the binding strip is not bonded'thereto. As a result, that portion of the binding strip covering the peripheral edge face is held taut, by the tendency of the edge of the midsole to expand-and is free to come and go with the contraction and expansion of the midsole. The method also includes applying the'binding strip in such a manner that the proportion of stretch widthwise of the binding per unit of length is less than the stretch lengthwise.

For use in making midsoles in the practice of the novel method, there is disclosed herein an apparatus consisting of several machines mounted, for convenience, upon a single shaft. These machines, which are used for performing the various steps of the method, are not claimed in this application; two of them, however, are disclosed and claimed in the divisional applications Serial Nos. 584,386 and 584,385, both filed on March 23, 1945. .The improved midsole produced by practicing the method likewise is not claimed herein, but is disclosed and claimed in the divithe binding may be applied in a single piece when leather is employed and when an unmarred piece precoated binding strip, the piece illustrated being adapted to be applied to the heel portion of the pad; I Fig. 4 shows a piece of precoated binding strip adapted to be applied to the toe portion of the pad;

Fig, 5 shows a piece of precoated binding strip adapted to be applied to the entire pad;

i Fig. 6 shows the pieces of binding strip illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4 joined by adhesive to provide a single piece adapted to be applied to the entire pad;

1 Fig; 7 discloses a resilient pad which is wedge shaped and has adhesive applied thereto on its top and bottom marginal portions all the Way out to the corners;

Fig. 8 shows the application of the binding strip to'the. heelportion of the pad with the marginal portions of the binding strip extending beyond the top and bottom faces of the pad;

' Fig. 9 showsthe partial bending orbreaking down of. the projecting marginalportions of the d Fig. 10 shows the projecting marginal portions of the binding wiped inwardly and pressed into engagement with the pad; I

Fig. 11 is an enlarged section of a marginal portion of the pad showing the way in which the adhesive is carried out to the corners and the binding strip adhering to the corners; and Fig. 12 is an enlarged sectionshowing the partial breaking down and adherence of the binding strip to the top and bottomfaces of the pad close to the corners.

The apparatus or machine illustrated herein for-preparing midsoles is shown in Fig. l as comprising means l0 for applying a precoated'binding strip a, a or a? and causing it to adhere to the corners of the peripheral edge of a pad or midsole b with its marginal portions extending beyond the top and bottom faces of the midsole, means I2 for partially bending or breaking down the projecting marginal portions of the binding strip,

and means M for wiping the bent-over marginal portions into engagement with the midsole and holding the same under compression. The aforesaid means are mounted'in co-operating relation upon a frame I B and are provided with operative means, as will appear hereinafter.

l The binding strip which is to be preliminarily attached to the, midsole by the means In is precoated and may be in one continuous piece a". as illustrated in Fig. 5, or in two pieces a and'a', as illustrated in Figs.3 and 4. The strip shown in Fig. 3 is shaped to cover the edge face of the heel portion of the pad band the strip shown in Fig. 4 is shaped to cover the edge face of the toe portion of the pad. 'Because of the difiiculty in obtaining a strip of leather of sufficient length to encompass the entire midsole, it is quite common to employ two pieces a and a, as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, whereas when a textile is employed, it is very easy to cut the entire length from a single sheet of material. In order that of skin sufficiently large to cut it from is not available, the shorter pieces a and a shown in Figs. 3 and 4 may bejoined by'a lap joint (Fig. 6) adhesive being employed to stick them'together.

In selecting the binding strip, advantage should be taken of the fact that leather and cloth have greater stretch in one direction than in the other,

for; by applying the binding strip in such a manner that the stretch per unit of length widthwise of the strip is less than the stretch per unit of length lengthwise, the tendency for the binding strip to stretch between the top and bottom faces of the midsole is minimized. In leather the stretch is greater along lines substantially at right angles to the backbone of the hide, that is,

y from side to side, and, consequently, if strips are cut so that their long dimensions run at right angles to the backbone of the hide, a minimum of stretch will be present widthwise thereof. In

cloth or textile material the stretch is greatest generally weftwise and, consequently, if the strips are cut so that their long dimensions are weftwise the minimum stretch will be widthwise of the strips.

The midsole or pad b to which the binding is to v be applied may be of uniform thickness from heel I or line of intersection between the peripheral to toe or it may have a raised portion at the heel end (Fig. '7). In preparing the midsole for the binding operation, adhesive is applied to the marginal portions of its top and bottom faces, the ad-j hesive being carried clear out to the corners. as

seen in Fig. 11. It is to be observed that whenever the word c0rners" is employed hereinafter in the specification or claims it means the point edge face and the top and bottom faces of the midsole. I

Having been prepared in advance, the binding strip and midsole are introduced to that part of the machine designated by the reference character Ill for preliminarily attaching the binding strip to the midsole. The means I0 comprises a horizontal platform l8 mounted for vertical ad- I justment, for a reason which. will appear hereinafter, on a horizontal bed 29 extending forwardly. V i from the frame It. The bed 20 is fastened by bolts 2| to a forwardly projecting bracket -32 formed integral with the frame IS. The vertical adjustment of the platform I 8 is provided for by a vertical stem 22 which is'attached to the underside of the. platform and is threaded through the bed 20 and is held in its adjusted position by nuts ,24 surrounding the stem and engaging the opposite faces of the bed. The midsole b is supported upon the platform 18 with its peripheral edge face adjacent to the vertical peripheral surface of a ro1l 26, the latter being mounted for rotation with a shaft 28 journaled at its lower end in a bracket 3fl extending forwardly from the frame l6 and at a portion adjacent to the lower end of the roll 26 by the for- 26. The hub 36 rotates in a hole formed in the bed 20. The upper surface of the'hub 36 is substantially in the plane of the upper surface of the bed 20 and forms a support and guide for the lower edge'of the binding strip which is fed into position to be applied .to the peripheral-edge bed 20 and a bracket 45, the latter being fastened to the frame l6 by bolts 41. The spindle 44 is fixed in the bracket 46 by a setscrew 48. The roll 42 is mounted for free rotation on a spindle 50 one end of which is secured in the bed 20 and the other end of which is secured in an overhanging arm 52 extending forwardly from the frame It, a setscrew 54 being provided for fastening the spindle 50 in place. Thebelt 38 is caused to travel upon the rolls 40 and 42 by frictional engagement with the binding strip which is fed between it and the positivelydriven roll 26. It is to be observed that the surface of the belt is provided with parallel angularly disposed lines of stitches 56 which may be of thread or fine wire. The lines of stitches frictionally; engage the surface'of the binding strip and prevent slippage between the belt and the binding strip. The binding strip a, a or a is fed between the belt and the roll 26 with its adhesive-coated surface in engagement with the belt so that as it-is advanced forwardly to the frontsurface of the roll the adhesive-coated surface of the binding strip will be outermost, as shown in Fig. 2, and in a position whereby the midsole, supported upon the platform i8, may be broughtup against the adhesive surface of the binding strip (Fig. 1) While the entire surface of the binding strip is covered with adhesive, the nature of the adhesive is such that it will only adhere to a surface treated with a like coating of adhesive. Consequently, only that portion of the binding strip which comes into contact with the corners of the midsole at this step in the process of applying the strip will adhere. After the midsole has been brought into engagement with the leading end of the binding strip, the strip maybe applied tautly by pushing the midsole as if to feed it a little faster than the binding strip is advanced.

In order to guide the binding strip to the bite between the endless belt 38 and the roll 26, there is provided a throat-shaped guide (Fig. 2) consisting of a pair of converging plates 58 attached in a vertical position at their lower edges to the bed 20, horizontal tabs 60 being formed at the lower edges of the plates through which screws are assed to fix the plates in position. The converging plates terminate close to the point at which the endless belt comes into. engagement with the roll 26.

In order to hold the midsole upon the platform l8 while it is turned to wrap the binding strip about its peripheral edge face, there is provided a Spring-pressed holddown roll 62 (Fig. l) mounted at the lower end of a spindle 64 which is vertically slidable in a bore 66 formed in the overhanging end of the arm 52. As will be observed, a spline 65 formed on the spindle 64 and a keyway 67 cut in the bore 66 prevent rotation of the spindle in the bore. A spring 68 surrounds the spindle 64 and abuts at one end an enlargement on the spindle and at its opposite end the underside of the overhanging arm 52, thereby constantly urging the holddown roll 62 toward the platform 18. .The holddown roll 62- maybe raised away from the platform, .to permit the work to be placed thereon, by means of alever 10 and a treadle rod 12,-the former being pivotally mounted upon a forked post 14 rising from the top of the arm 52. The lever 10 has a slot at one end to receive a pin 16 carried by a block 11 fastened to the upper end of the spindle 64. The other end of the lever 10 is attached to the rod 12 by a pin 18. It is to be observed that the holddown roll 62 will rise and fall with the variation of the thickness of the midsole as it is rotated in contact with the roll 26. As will be seen by reference to Fig. 1, the marginal portions of the binding strip project beyond the .top and bottom faces of the midsole. These projecting marginal portions may be made to overlap one face more than the other, or they may, by the vertical adjustment of the platform I8, be made to overlap both faces an equal amount.

After the binding strip has been applied to the midsole as described, with its opposite marginal portions extending above and below the top and bottom faces of the midsole, the midsole is removed from the platform I8 and presented to the means l2 for breaking down and partially folding over the projecting marginal portions of the binding strip, thereby stretching the binding strip tautly over the peripheral edge face, for subjecting the midsole to such pressure as to compress it to some extent, and for causing the binding strip to adhere to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces close to the corners of the midsole, as represented in Fig. 12. The means 12 consists of a hub 82 having a pair of frusto-conical disks formed thereon with their small ends opposite each other. A pair of set screws 84 are provided for securing the hub to the shaft 28 for rotation therewith. The oppositely disposed frusto-conical disks provide a pair of converging surfaces 85 between which the edge of the midsole may be placed and which will engage the projecting marginal portions of the binding strip and bend them toward the top and bottom faces of the midsole, thereby breaking them down. Simultaneously, the inwardly directed thrust compresses the midsole so that as the midsole is rotated the binding strip is caused to adhere to the marginal portions of the midsole closely adjacent to the corners, thereby temporarily holding the edge of the midsole in a compressed state. This action is somewhat similar to the wiping-in action of a lasting operation, a temporary bond formed between the marginal edges of the strip and the corners permitting the marginal edge of the strip to slip by the corners and hence to stretch the binding strip over the peripheral edge face so that it is taut. In this connection it will be seen by reference to-Fig. 9 that the diverging surfaces 86 only press the projecting marginal portions of the binding strip into engagement with the top and bottom faces of the midsole close to the corners and not to anysubstantial amount inwardly thereof. This temporary bond holds the binding strip with its marginal portions partially bent over and in a position to facilitate the subsequent operation. Since the surfaces 86 converge from their outer peripheral edges toward the center, the entire edge of. the midsole may be operated upon regardless of the variation in its thickness, since the distance between the surfaces 86 close to the peripheral edges of the disks 80 is great enough .to embrace the thickest portion of the midsole and the distancebetween the surfaces 36 close to the center of the disks is small enough to embrace the thinnest portions of themidsole; After the marginal portions T of the binding strip have beenbent inwardly and caused to adhere to the corners of the midsole by'the means I2, the partially bent marginal portions are then subjected to the wiping-in and pressure applying means I4 which consist of a pairl of parallel flat plates 88. One of the plates 88, that is, the lower plate, is provided with a hub 90 which surrounds the shaft 28 and-is fastened thereto by a setscrew 92. The other,'or upper plate 88, is provided with a flanged hub 94 .which surrounds a sleeve 95, the latter being mounted on the shaft 28 and fastened thereto by a'setscrew 98 which is threaded through a flange I formed at the upper end of the sleeve. 1 A spring I02 is placed around the sleeve 96 between the flange I00 and the hub 94 and serves to urge the upper plate 88 'yieldably toward the lower plate. A lever I04 pivoted to the frame I6 atl06 is provided with a yoke IIiBwhichembraces the hub 94 and carries studs III] which project inwardly into a circumferential groove III formed in the hub. This provides means'for'raising the upper plate 88 from the lower plate while permitting rotation of the upper plate with the shaft 28, a treadle rod |I2 being attached to the outer end of the lever I04 for this purpose. To-guide'the plate 88 in its movement and to prevent rotation relative to the sleeve 96, a setscrew 95 is threaded through the hub 94 and has on its'inner end a nub 91 which occupies a slot 99'formed axially of the sleeve. By raising the'upper plate 88 and placing the midsole between the plates, as shown in Fig.'10, the partially folded-in edges of the binding strip are brought-into engagement With the top and bottom. faces of the midsole and pressed thereagainst. By passing first one side of the midsole and then the other between the plates 88, the entire length of the binding strip is progressively wiped and pressed into engagement with the marginal portion of the midsole and adhesively secured thereto while the midsole is under compression. Itis to be ob-' a length of precoated binding strip to the guides 58, pushing it far enough toward the roll 26 and belt 38 so that it is engaged by them, a'nd'depresses'the clutch treadle I24 until the roll and beltcarrythe binding around the surface of the 7 roll to the front side thereof opposite to the work supporting platform I8. The clutch is then released and the rod 12 is depressed to lift the holddown roll 62, whereupon the operator places I the precoated midsole on the platform I8 below depressed. Simultaneously, theoperator pushes the midsole against the binding strip at about the shank portion thereof to bring the corners of the midsole intov engagement with the bindi i-i strip, and then rotates the midsole upon the platform, while the midsole is :held down by the roll.

' sary to start the leading end of the binding strip atthe' shank but that it maybe started at any other point along the periphery of the midsole.

After the binding strip has been applied as described, the upstanding -or projecting marginal portions thereof are broken down and partially bent over, to draw the binding taut over the pe-.

ripheral edge faceandto compress the edge of V the midsole slightly, by introducing the midsole to the member I2. This is accomplished by turning the midsole and simultaneously thrustinggit Y as far as possible inwardly between'the surfaces served that the rotation of the disks is such that as the midsole is drawn between them there is a component of forceexerted on the edge portions of the midsole which tends towipe' the marginal portions of the binding inwardly and another component which acts longitudinally of the midsole and in the same direction as the midsole is moving toiroh the pressed down marginal portions. The component of force exerted in thedirection of movement of the midsole tends to shorten the inner edges of the marginal por 'tions of the binding strip and thus to draw the binding strip close about-the curved portion of the'midsole and to eliminate wrinkling of the overlapping portion of the binding.

The'roll 26, the frusto-conical disks .80, and the plates 88 rotate with the shaft 28, the shaft being turned by an endless chain II4 which runs on a pair of sprockets I I6 and H8. The sprocket H6 is formed on the lower-end of the hub' 82 which is elongated for this purpose.- The sprocket IIB is fastened for rotation with a shaft (not shown) which extends from a gear box I29, the latter being connected by a clutchl22 to a driven pulley I25. A treadle rod I24 provides means for tripping the clutch to cause rotation of the sprocket I I8. r In preparing a'midsole in accordance with the method described above, upon the machine illustrated herein, the operator introduces the end of 86, thereby to cause the binding to adhere to the corners of the midsole in a taut condition. During this operation the disks 80 are rotated by de-v pression .of the clutchtreadle rod I24. ,Io com-'- plete the folding of the projecting marginal por- 3 tions and to cause themto adhere to the opposite faces of the midsole tohold the edge of the midsole in a state of compression, the midsole is finally introduced ,betweenqtheplates .88, the

' upper one of which is lifted against the spring I02 by the treadle rod 1 I2. The upper plate is urged toward the lower plate with sufficient force to. insure adhesion between the projecting'marginal portions of the binding strip and the midof the midsole.

Having described my invention, What'I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

1. A method of making a platform midsole comprising applying stripes of adhesive adjacent 1 to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces of'the midsole including the corners formed by the intersection. of the peripheral edge facewith the top and bottom faces while leaving the peripheral edge face free of adhesive, wrapping a precoated binding strip. about said peripheral edge to cause the strip to'adhere to said corners with its marginal portions projecting from said top and bottom faces, and wiping said marginal portions into engagement with said top and bottom faces while applying pressure thereto.

2. A method of making a platform midsole comprising applying adhesive to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces of the midsole including the corners formed by the intersection of the peripheral edge face with the top and bottom faces while leaving the peripheral edge face free of adhesive, wrapping a precoated binding strip about said peripheral edge to cause the strip to adhere to said corners with its marginal portions projecting from said top and bottom faces, and thereafter first bending and then wiping said projecting marginal portions inwardly into engagement with said top and bottom faces, thereby to cause the binding to adhere to the top and bottom faces of the midsole and to be stretched about the edge face of the midsole.

3. A method of making a platform midsole comprising applying adhesive to the marginal portions of the opposite faces of the midsole including the corners formed by the intersection of the peripheral edge face with the opposite faces while leaving the peripheral edge face free of adhesive, wrapping a precoated binding strip about said peripheral edge to cause the strip to adhere to the corners with its marginal portions projecting from said opposite faces, reducing the thickness of the midsole at it peripheral edge while simultaneously wiping the projecting marglnal portions of the binding inwardly to cause the binding strip to be stretched about said edge face and to cause the projecting portions to adhere to said opposite faces close to the corners, and finally bringing the remainder of the projecting marginal portions into engagement with said opposite faces and subjecting the midsole to pressure.

4. A method of making a platform midsole comprising applying adhesive to the marginal portions of the top and bottom faces of the midsole including the corners formed by the intersection of the peripheral edge face with the top and'bottom faces while leaving the peripheral edge face free of adhesive, wrapping a precoated strip of binding, the stretch of which is greatest per unit of length lengthwise thereof, about said peripheral edge to cause the strip to adhere to the corners with its marginal portions projecting from the top and bottom faces, wiping said projecting marginal portions of the binding strip inwardly while simultaneously subjecting the peripheral edge of the midsole to pressure to reduce its thickness, and finally bringing the wipedin marginal portions of the binding strip into engagement with said top and bottom faces and causing them to adhere permanently thereto while said peripheral edge is reduced in thickness.

ERNEST A. CREPEAU. 

